Six stalemates, two triumphs turn title tussle tougher

MNA – The cutthroat competition for the fourth Iran Pro League trophy grew increasingly tense as six Friday’s games in the 27th week ended in draw and the capital’s title hopeful Esteqlal and bottom-placed Paykan bagged perfect points.
Esteqlal, which saw off the navy’s side Malavan 3-1 Thursday, remained in the second spot as its old foe Persepolis was held by the struggling holder Pas to a 1-1 tie in an action-filled derby before a record seasonal crowd of over 70,000 fans in Tehran’s Azadi Stadium Friday.

Persepolis paid the price for Mohammad Mohammadi’s goalkeeping blooper just four minutes after the kickoff when Pas striker Mohsen Bayatinia sent a loose ball into an unguarded net.

Bayatinia received kudos from teammates and a yellow card from referee Ali Khosravi for making a gesture to silence the die-hard red fans.

The passionate fans unfolded their flags, celebrating the reds’ equalizer seven minutes later with skull-splitting whistles and cheers.

National midfielder Javad Kazemian was brought down by his counterpart Javad Nekunam and a coolheaded Ali Ansarian wrong-footed goalie Hassan Rudbarian.

The referee showed on 36 minutes he lacked the guts to red-card Bayatinia for his wild off-the-ball kick targeting the chest of Persepolis defender Mohammad-Reza Mahdavi.

Mostafa Momayyez, a veteran refereeing expert, who talked to Channel 3 live during the break, firmly said Bayatinia should have received his marching orders only for his dangerous foul.

Pas was too lucky to fell behind in early second half when forward Reza Jabbari header hit the crossbar and Ansarian’s acrobatic kick in the goalmouth was saved by Rudbarian.

The draw kept Persepolis in the third place on 49 points with one match in hand.

Five more games reached impasse as Saba Battery-Fulad, Fajr-e Sepassi-Zob Ahan, and Abu Moslem-Barq matches ended nil-nil and Saipa-Shamushak and Barq-Esteqlal of Ahvaz clashes finished 1-1.

Paykan was the second team, which emerged victorious in the weekend.

Under former Sepahan manager Farhad Kazemi, the national automaker’s side Paykan snatched a surprising 2-1 away win over Sepahan in Isfahan.

Fulad is still the table-topper on 52 points out of 26 games while Esteqlal lies in the second slot with a 51-point asset.